How for do you travel in one day?

We are planning a long trip in the fall from North Georgia near Chattanooga, TN to Mt. Rushmore. How far do you typically travel in one day on a long trip? We are learning the ins and outs of our new travel trailer by camping locally during the summer, and we'll head out west in September. Any pointers from you seasoned RVers? Campground recommendations? Happy Travels!

 

We generally limit our daily driving to 4 hours or less. We're almost never in a hurry to get anywhere though, beyond the occasional need to outrun incoming bad weather. Keeping our travel time short means we get to our stop for the night early enough to set up and still enjoy some of what the area has to offer. I should add that we're fulltime RV'ers in our upper 70's though, rather than vacationers with limited time to squeeze in a trip.

 

Hi Travelinbandman and welcome to the forum. Everyone is different when it comes to this subject of hours and miles driven on an average day. For us we like to leave early in the am, no later than 7:30 to 8 am and stop driving after 5 hours or 250 miles give or take a mile. That way as Dutch said we have time to hookup, settle in for the evening and have dinner and enjoy some of the surroundings, etc. We are retired so we aren't on a schedule when we travel and we usually plan our trips and have our overnight stops along the way reserved in advance so we don't have to scurry around trying to find a park or campground that isn't fully booked, etc. Nothing worse than driving a long day and then having to search for someplace to stay the night, which at times can lead to a Walmart parking lot or someplace legal off the highway where you have to dry camp. Above all don't push yourself as it simply isn't worth it. Driving or towing an RV is full time job and even tho we don't realize it, it does take its toll on us both mentally and physically. Plan you trip and reserve you stops before you go if at all possible. I can guarantee it will make for a more pleasant trip as well as a safe one.................

Have a great trip to Mt. Rushmore and enjoy your new travel trailer.........BankShot......(aka Terry)

 

We try for ~6 hours of driving time in a day which works out to ~350 miles. Usually, we will plan to have 3-4 driving days followed by a 5-14 day stopover. We often drive rather long distance to reach our primary vacation spot so we're willing to drive a bit longer each day to get there a bit faster. Last summer we stayed 3 months in Atlantic Canada about 2,600 miles from our winter roost in TX.

 

We retired and started RVing in our 50's and quickly discovered we could not travel as far per day in an RV as we could in a car (mostly because we do not drive as fast in the RV), so we settled in at about 300 miles per day, but stopping no later than around 4-4:30 pm. (The early arrivers get the good spots!) Now that we are (ahem) somewhat older, we have reduced our daily drive time to around 225-250 mi. This way we have time for a more leisurely breakfast, drive to our next stop, and still get there by around 4. We also spend only two days driving (used to be three) before we take a break and stay put for a day or two just to relax. It also took us a while to realize we didn't always have to stick to our plans. If we wanted to see or do more things at a particular location, we could just stay longer; or if we saw everything faster than planned, we could head out early.

As for reservations, we do make them because we want to be sure we have a place to stay. At first we used to make reservations for the whole trip in advance, and that is probably why in the beginning we felt like we had to stay on a schedule. Now we only make the next reservation when we are sure we will be leaving where we are. We have always managed to find a place on short notice, but I will admit that we did not always get a site at our first or even second choice park, but we have also always worked something out and have never had to stay at a Walmart. Most all parks will work with you if you are willing to be flexible. In fact there have been several times that in order to get into the park we wanted, we have agreed to switch sites during our stay; but even then, some parks managed to keep us in the same spot after all once we arrived.

As said before, everyone is different so the important thing is to find what suits you best so that RVing is something that is enjoyable and fun.

 

I'm with Docj, we try to limit our miles per day to about 350. This allows us time to have a relaxed breakfast and tear down camp, drive 2-3 hours, have lunch, drive another 2-3 hours and stop around 4 or 5:00 to set up our next camp and make dinner.

There are occasions, where we drive further, but we try to avoid it. Rv travel is not as fast paced as traveling by car.

Chris g.

 

A couple of years ago we drove across Canada from Alberta to Toronto. For the most part we travelled about 650Km per day (about 400 miles) as this was the fuel range of my truck at that time, while towing. Setting up for an over-night enabled me to disconnect, drive e to a fuel station and re-fuel without having to drag the RV through the pumps. Typically we drove for 2 - 3 days then had a 3 night stop-over. On one occasion (the first day) we did drive nearly 1000km which took about 9 - 10 hours but that was a long drive and quite tiring. Not something I would look to do again while towing.

 

Greetings travelinbandman.

We are Canadian full timers. We head south for the winter months so we normally cross the US border mid October. depending on weather, geography and if we have “been there and done that already”, There are days that are much longer than normal. When we are in “warmer” temps, our distances and travel times become more relaxed, We start out with a final destination but we love to travel the slow roads. Some days we don’t move very far, others we may travel 3 to 4 hundred miles. We do like to be parked around 2 or 3 in the PM though. That gives us a better chance of getting a good site if we have not made a reservation and it allows us a chance to look around and decide of we want to stay longer than a day.

You don’t tell us how much time you have allowed to complete your trip but please take some time to smell the roses.

I expect you will head towards St. Louis. I recommend taking a ride top the top of the Arch. You will feel like you are riding in an oversized front load washing machine. The views from the top are pretty nice too. The Busch Brewery is a nice stopping point as well. I suspect you will then head east to Independence/Kansas City. On your way, near Boonville, is the Warm Springs Ranch where the Busch Clydesdale horses are bred. Tours are by reservation only.

In Independence you will find Harry S. Truman’s boyhood house as well as a lot of other historical places. We stayed at Campus RV Park. It was only a fare park but it was close to what we wanted to see. We also had some good BBQ at “A Little BBQ Joint”. We visited the National Frontier Trails Museum but we were a bit disappointed. We expected it to be a lot bigger with more info after all, it was the jumping off point for a lot of west bound settlers. Then you will follow the Missouri River valley past Omaha to Sioux Falls. We stayed at Walnut Creek Lake Recreation area just outside of Omaha. The RV Park was very nice

From Sioux Falls west to Rapid City you will find the roads that have very few curves, not many trees but to keep you alert, you can try counting Antelope. Rapid City is the east gateway to the Black Hills where there is lots to see and do. Mount Rushmore of course. Even though we are Canadian we found the monument to be moving. The artistry is amazing. We recommend that you take the Iron Mountain Road (16A) to the monument but do not tow your trailer on that road. The scenery is very nice but what is even better is that the engineer that planned the road made it so that when you near a tunnel, the monument is framed. . But there is more. Not far away is The Wildlife Loop Road. Definitely a must drive. Also nearby is the Crazy Horse Monument (in the making) We were not impressed. We did not feel the cost of entry to the exhibit to be of good value. Others we spoke with found it worthwhile.

Also in the general area is Deadwood and in Deadwood is the Mount Moriah Cemetery where the remains of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried.

So you have come this far. Just over a hundred miles further is The Devil’s Tower just across Wyoming’s border. If you have seen the sci-fi movie “Close Encounters” you will recognize this rock. Even without the movie notoriety, it is a worthwhile visit. There is a very nice trail that winds it’s way around the rock. There are two campgrounds nearby. One is a KOA with full hookups (they play the movie constantly) and the other is the National Park Belle Fourche River Campground. We stayed at the Belle Fourche because it is right next to the rock. It was a very nice campground but no P W or S. The view from our coach was amazing.

And then.......since you are so close........sort of........another 400 miles west is Old Faithful in Yellowstone.

I’m sure you will enjoy your trip no matter which route you travel. If there is any other info I can help you with please let me know. You can check out my profile for RV Parks/Campground that we have used during our travels along your intended route.

Darrell

 

Darrell my old Canuck RV friend, you'd make one heckova tour guide, have you ever considered a part time job as one............ Keep your travels safe and above all you and Jerry stay healthy at all times....................INDEED!!!

Regards from the Yank down south of the border, Terry............(aka BankShot)

 

How do you planning your RV campground reservations???

 

We make our destination reservations as far ahead as necessary to get the dates and sometimes the site selection we want, and then work backwards to decide on intermediate stops along the way. Those are usually only for one or two nights and only get reserved a day or two ahead. Very rarely do are our first choice overnight stops not have a site available. Our GA and FL state park reservations for the coming winter are all in place, and even our NY state park reservations for this coming Labor Day week and next year's 4th of July and Labor Day weeks are in place for the specific sites we want.

 

this is unbelievable! thank you so much for sharing your experience.

 

It's best to plan on online maps. You need to explore places where you will spend the night and relax. Travel is not only expensive. You have the purpose of your journey

 

We typically go between 250 and 300 miles per day depending on where we want to wind up. We like to be settled in prior to 4pm. It's just our thing. Also, we have determined it's even better to do 2 or 3 nights sometimes on our way somewhere as one night for a week straight gets wearing. Hope that helps. What route are you taking as we may be able to recommend some places to stay.
If you are going through Independence Missouri, I highly recommend the whole Harry Truman experience. Loved it. It's also the "jump off point" for the Oregon trail and has a good museum.

We do not make too many reservations in advance because we have found that sometimes we just want to stay somewhere longer. Going in September, you should not have too much problem with finding places. It's much easier than June and July. That being said, a lot more folks are RVing so call a day or two ahead of time when you make up your mind on your next destination.

I hope you enjoy your travels. I wasn't sold on RVing and now prefer it over any other form of travel. Hope to see you on the road.

 

What great information. Thank you so much! We have spent the last few weeks camping locally (within 3 hours of home) just to learn about using out camper. What a learning cure...... but I think we may be about ready.

Since the trip is so far, I didn't want to take too long to get there as we wanted to spend several days in the Black Hills area not missing the Badlands either....... then on to Colorado for a few days in Estes Park. We like you suggestion of seeing Devils Tower too. We are debating whether or not to venture on to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. We lived in Jackson, WY for two years back in the mid 70's.

I am thinking we are going to like the scenic national and state parks better that the cloned, modern RV parks, but we'll definitely overnight in those along the way.

I really do appreciate your advice. We are likely headed out west the middle of September when the weather cools a bit. Thanks, again. Very helpful info!

Robert

 

I'm so glad to read all the responses here. Most of our traveling in owning our camper for 13 years has been to a single destination, and we've driven hard to get there, then enjoy our time there, then drive hard to get back home. Now we are planning a 3-week cross country trip from Alabama to California and back. (Out I-20, I-10, back I-40). We both just in our heads decided to limit our travel to under 350 miles per day. Mainly it worked out that way because we wanted to stop overnight in as many states as possible. (Gotta fill that map with stickers ). We have really enjoyed using the Campground Reviews site to pick the best campgrounds.

 

Hi Mouseketab! Good to see you

Because we are weekend warriors that take maybe a longer trip each year, and we live on the east coast, our goal is often to simply get where we are going. We have done as much as 700 miles in a day, but I try to do no more than 500 miles if I am alone, 400 if my wife is with me (we have to stop more often). I use a spreadsheet to do the planning and have it set to give me a warning on those longer days so I don't plan too many in a row.

 

When headed west you can put some miles in after you get past St. Louis. I’m trying to remember from sw Florida I believe we took 4Ish days to get to the badlands. (Same area within 100 miles) It’s 2100 miles from ft Myers. I was driving a smaller motorhome not pulling a TT and I was traveling a tad fast (for a motorhome) when we got to the wide open roads with only tumbleweeds on each side for many miles. I’d look down and be going a little faster than I should have been.
Be sure to go through the badlands on the way. Even If your short on time it doesn’t take a ton of time to just drive though or you can stay a night or two in the area. Stop and see the prairie dogs at the gas station/ general store on the way I believe it is when you leave the badlands.